Craft breweries, distilleries find a happy home in Houston

1of5Flying Rhino Brewing Co. is a new 8,100-square-foot brewery that is set to open in Dickinson on FM 517 in spring 2020.Photo: Method Architecture / Method Architecture

2of5Flying Rhino Brewing Co. is a new 8,100-square-foot brewery that is set to open in Dickinson on FM 517 in spring 2020.Photo: Method Architecture / Method Architecture

3of5New Orleans-based Urban South Brewery will open a 14,000-square-foot brewery in Houston at 1201 Oliver in Sawyer Yards. It is expected to open in fall 2019.Photo: Urban South / Urban South

4of5New Orleans-based Urban South Brewery will open a 14,000-square-foot brewery in Houston at 1201 Oliver in Sawyer Yards. It is expected to open in fall 2019. Rendering of the Houston project.Photo: Courtesy / Courtesy

Houston appears to have an almost unquenchable thirst for craft beer. According to beerchronicle.com, there are about 60 active breweries doing business in greater Houston, each eager for beer-lovers to become acquainted with their particular styles of IPAs, stouts, porters, lagers and other malty/hoppy efforts.

Last month True Anomaly Brewing Co. held its grand opening at 2012 Dallas, calling itself a “launchpad for fermented exploration.” Set up in EaDo (where 8th Wonder Brewery and Sigma Brewing Company make their homes), True Anomaly joins other newbie breweries in Houston including Walking Stick Brewing Company in Garden Oaks and Astral Brewing in Independent Heights.

And there are others on the way. Last week, Urban South Brewery announced it would open a brewhouse with a beer garden at 1201 Oliver in the Sawyer Yards complex. The 10-barrel brewhouse, canning line and public taproom is expected to open in the fall.

Urban South, founded in New Orleans in 2016, chose Houston as its first expansion outside Louisiana because of the thriving craft beer community and the special relationship between the two cities.

“Houston was an easy choice for our first satellite brewery," said Jacob Landry. Urban South founder. "The connections between the city and New Orleans run deep, and we love that their craft beer culture is forward-thinking, innovative and rapidly growing. We're excited to be a part of this creative community, sharing the grassroots gospel of good beer in the south."

The brewery tapped Dave Ohmer, formerly with B-52 Brewing, as its brewmaster, lending some H-Town know-how to the operations.

Last week, another brewery project announced it would take up home in Dickinson. Flying Rhino Brewing Co. is set to construct an 8,100-square-foot brewery with a tap room and outdoor patio on FM 517, a mile and a half from I-45. Expected to be completed by spring 2020, Flying Rhino will start out with an IPA, an American pale ale, milk stout, American blonde and a Mexican lager among the offerings from its 10-barrel brewhouse.

But breweries aren’t the only one making booze news. Distilleries, too, are finding Houston a receptive market for spirits businesses.

8th Wonder Distillery held an official launch party last week for its vodka- and gin-making facility at 2201 Dallas in EaDo. Although the distillery opened last year, road work made access difficult, hence the belated grand opening. But the distillery, across the street from the much-loved 8th Wonder Brewery, is open for business — ready to show off its two boutique spirits, 8x Distilled Vodka and Hopped Gin.

The distillery and tasting room, which serves cocktails made with the in-house vodka and gin, is currently open Thursday and Friday from 5 p.m. to midnight, Saturday from 2 p.m. to midnight, and Sunday 2 to 8 p.m.

Another distillery, Fox & Seeker, is set to debut possibly by the end of year at 1125 W. Cavalcade, making craft vodka, a London dry gin and Texas bourbon.

Greg Morago was a features editor and reporter for The Hartford Courant for 25 years before joining the Houston Chronicle as food editor in 2009. He writes about food, restaurants, spirits, travel, fashion and beauty. He is a native Arizonan and member of the Pima tribe of the Gila River Indian Community.